The Escambia County School Board approved a policy during Tuesday's board meeting that will allow students with a prescription to use medical marijuana on district property as long as it is administered by a parent.

"Basically, the policy puts it back in the hands of the parent by indicating that during school hours, we would permit the parent to administer the medical marijuana to their child," Escambia County Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said Wednesday. "Because of the conflict between federal and state laws over marijuana, we will make sure that none of our employees or staff administer it and get caught up in something that could become legal."

The Santa Rosa County School District approved the same policy in October. Thomas said Escambia County finalized its policy Tuesday after months of drafting.

He added that had a parent come forward with a prescription and the documentation necessary to administer medical marijuana on school grounds during the first school semester this year, the district would have allowed it under a procedure "very similar" to the new policy.

"We recognize there may be students in the future with a condition that may need (medical marijuana) to function in school," Thomas said. "There are medical conditions that would make this beneficial for students, like those who suffer from seizure disorders. We want to have a way forward for these students, should this be something that could help them throughout the day."

Thomas said that so far this school year, no parent or student in the district has taken advantage of the policy.

Parents are encouraged to administer the medical marijuana before or after school hours, and for safety reasons, they would not be allowed to store the marijuana on school grounds.

"The medicine will never be stored on campus," Thomas said. "We would not want something happening to where someone breaks in thinking they could steal from a clinic on our campus."

The next step, Thomas said, falls on the state to provide resolution as to how school employees in a drug-free workforce should handle the new policy.

The school board voted 5-0 on Tuesday to request an opinion from the state Attorney General to bring clarity to the conflict. Thomas said the district will send a formal request shortly after Jan. 1 and hopes for a response soon after that.

"Right now, we rely on our medical review officer to consider a positive or negative drug test, and I think that officer is under a quandary now without help from the Department of Health or someone that could provide guidance," Thomas said. "If someone has an accident or we hire a new employee, we're going to test them for marijuana. So now that (medical marijuana) is permitted on our campuses, we need to know how to factor that in."

Tim Wyrosdick, superintendent of the Santa Rosa County School District, also acknowledged the disconnect between state and federal law during a phone interview with the News Journal on Wednesday, saying the issue presses all districts that have recently instituted on-campus medical marijuana policies.

"I think every school district is in a conundrum with how to satisfy both federal and state law," Wyrosdick said. "And I think there needs to be some quality discussion among legislators on how to give school districts specific direction on how to comply with both laws. It needs to be worked out, it needs to be resolved."